User blog:JohnnyOTGS/JohnnyTalk World~The History of Halloween's Monsters
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of JohnnyTalk World. As you all know that Halloween is just around the corner, and by the Month of October when we think about the Holiday, we usually think about the "Creatures of the Night" so to say, and I mean creatures like Ghosts, Werewolves, Vampires, Witches, Zombies. But where in history did these creatures come from? Well, this is what this blog page will try to cover. Vampires As we may know about Vampires, they're supposed to be creatures that can take on human form, as they hunt in the night (as Sunlight is lethal to them) turn into Bats, and feast on the blood of their very victims. You may also know that vampires became famous with the fictional character Count Dracula. Who was made by the Irish Author: Bram Stoker who wrote his famous book in 1898. His inspiration was the brutal leader of Transylvania: Vlad Tepes the 3rd who fought a war against the Ottoman Turks. Soon, Tepes would be known for his extreme brutality as he would murder his enemies and others who would rise up against him and then take their dead bodies and "impale" them on wooden sticks (hence his nickname "Vlad The Impaler") It is also said they he would also drink the blood of his victims (and even sopping up their blood with bread). However, the history of the Vampire actually goes back to the time of the Greeks. It all began with a man named Ambrogio took his girlfriend Selena to the temple of the Greek god of the Sun: Apollo. At the Temple, Ambrogio asked Selena to marry him. Because Apollo also was in love with Selena, he became jealous and placed a curse on Ambrogio and turned him into a vampire (and this is where the stereotype of the Vampire drinking blood and being vulnerable to sunlight came from) and the Sun would severely burn his skin. After this Ambrogio then turned to the Greek Gods of both the Underworld (Hades) and the Hunt (Artemis) for help. Artemis would make Ambrogio vulnerable to Silver (as it'll have the same effect on his skin as sunlight) as well as fangs to consume the blood of his victims and even immortality. Selena would eventually marry Ambrogio despite what had become of her beloved. Artemis also told him that he can also turn her immortal if he consumes her blood, causing her body to die but her spirit would still live on. This also led to the belief that a vampire can turn other humans into vampires by consuming their blood. The story of Vampires is also linked to the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in 14th Century Europe as one of the symptoms of the disease is also having bleeding lesions which led to the superstition of vampirism. Another disease that also led to Vampirism during the Middle Ages was something called Porphyria which was a disease in the blood which caused the skin to erupt into blisters when exposed to sunlight. Rabies and even Goiter were also linked to the myths of vampires. There are other people who were also linked to the vampire myth throughout history such as Erzsebet Bathory (known in English as Elizabeth Bathory) better known as The Blood Countess known for murdering visitors who would come to her husband's castle and use their blood to bathe in it as she believed it would help maintain her health and youth. In fact, there was at least *one* American Vampire by the name of Mercy Brown. The Daughter of a farmer from Rhode Island, Mercy died from Tuberculosis. But even after death, Mercy was subjected to many myths of the vampire as her body didn't decay fast enough (to the fact that her body was kept above ground due to the winter) but very soon, people would become sick as they neared her body, the people from the nearby town would also accuse her of mysterious deaths. Eventually, her heart was extracted from her body and was burnt and her ashes were given to her sickly brother who (ironically) died after receiving the ashes of her heart. Witches As we may know about Witches, that they have green skin a triangle-shaped face, long pointy noses, dress in black, fly around on brooms, make magic potions and whatnot. Of course, The Wicked Witch of the West from the movie The Wizard of OZ made this stereotype famous with the masses. But the origin of the Witch actually goes back to the BC eras, according to the Old Testament of the Christian Bible the King of Isreal: Saul ''was seeking the ''"Witch of Endor" '' to summon the spirit of the Prophet ''Samuel in order to help him in a battle between the Philistine Army. But, this did more harm than good for Saul. The spirit of Samuel prophesized the death of Saul as well as his son, the next day Saul's son died and this, in turn, caused Saul to Commit Suicide. But because this is in the Bible (Exodus 22:18) this information is unreliable. More precise records of witches didn't come until 15th Century Europe where the entire continent was in a Witch-hunting frenzy. The courts of the European Nations would also accuse women (mostly) that are suspected of "unusual behavior" of the old fashioned (and superstitious) crime of Witchcraft. Of course, we all know that France's famous female warrior Joan of Arc was accused of this crime (later discovered that she was wrongly convicted) and was sentenced to burn to death at the stake at the ripe age of 19. But as the European nations like Great Britain colonized America. Their beliefs of superstitions of Witches came with it. In a small town of Salem (in Modern Day Massachusetts) these Witch Trials continued. These women accused of Witchcraft were also given tests, they would give them a test with water. They would take the accused to a lake and see if she sinks or floats. If the accused woman floats (which human bodies actually do as human bodies are 75% water) she would be regarded as a witch, but if she sank, she would be regarded as a human pure of heart. But the problem would take her out of the water before she drowns. In later discoveries of these Witch Trials is that the people who would accuse women of Witchcraft would either be Paranoid or have delusions of grandeur. Eventually, with the age of science, these Witch hunts would become less common. But in the latter part of the 17th century. 150 people in Salem would be accused of Witchcraft (mostly women) and around 18 of those accused would be executed. Ghosts/Haunted Houses As anybody who believes in the Paranormal that people who have died but with their spirit still among the living. Also in the movement of objects or levitation or even the inhabiting of living people. But what about the origins of Ghosts? Well, the first telling of the story of Ghosts began during the Roman Empire where author Pliny the Younger as he writes about seeing a man in a long beard with the rattling of chains that was haunting his house in Athens. Pretty soon, other Roman authors such as Lucian ''and ''Plautus ''would also write out their own Ghost stories. Since then, all nations across the world would have authors write out stories where they claimed to see Ghosts. One of the most famous Ghost Stories was about a noblewoman from Great Britain named ''Anne Boleyn who was executed at the famous Tower of London ''after (ironically) being accused of Witchcraft, and ever since her execution some people even believe that her "Ghost" is still inside the Tower. There also have been Ghost sightings at the White House with the Ghost of ''Abraham Lincoln and even Franklin Roosevelt. But, what about haunted houses? Well, a "Haunted House" is where it is believed that a vicious murder had taken place and the "Ghost" of that person who was murdered still resides in that house. One of the most famous Haunted places is the Lizzie Borden House in the city of Boston where the Young Girl would murder her family. Entire Cities (like Boston as well as Savannah, New Orleans and others) would also be considered haunted by Ghosts. Even remote countrysides (where it was the site of a huge battle in a war) like the farm fields of Gettysburg (which we all know that was a battle of the American Civil War) and even Somme (the biggest battle of World War 1). Werewolves As we all know that the story of Werewolves, where one gets bitten by a Werewolf, they would turn into one on clear nights of a Full Moon and would be vulnerable to silver and would eat children, and steal chickens. But what about the origins of the Werewolf? There is little in precise records on exactly when and where the belief of Werewolves came from, but it could have begun with a stone tablet from 2100 BC when somebody wrote what was known as The Epic of Gilgamesh. ''In the story, a woman (presumably known as ''Gilgamesh) jilted one of her lovers after she had turned another one of her lovers into a Werewolf. The story of Werewolves also dates back to the time of the Greeks with the Greek Legend of Lycaon ''who is the son of ''Pelasgus. ''He angered Zeus who fed him the remains of a boy who was sacrificed and because of this Zeus turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves. The Werewolf history continues into Medieval Europe with some famous (or in this case, infamous) Werewolf stories. In 1521, 2 Frenchmen named ''Pierre Burgot ''and ''Michel Verdun claimed that they have done "The Devil's Work" and had made special potions which they claimed turned them into werewolves and used their "powers" to murder a lot of children, they were executed for their crimes as they were burned at the stake (as it was believed to be the only form of execution that could kill a werewolf). Another Frenchman named Giles Garnier had also claimed to be a Werewolf (as he was given the title The Werewolf of Dole) and was also given the same execution. Though the initial story of the Werewolf is a Myth, there may be some modern, scientific evidence on how a Full moon can affect the psyche of mentally ill people. Psychologists from a mental hospital in Australia conducted a study in the summers of 2008 and 2009 states that a Full Moon had effected a majority of the patient at the mental hospital. Zombies/Mummies As we all believe about a Zombie is that they're decaying bodies of dead people who are brought back to life by either a magic spell of some kind of sci-fi virus and like to feast on the brains of their "living" victims. But what about the origins of the Zombie and the Mummy? Again, we have to go back to Ancient Greece as the people were in fear of the undead, and archeological discoveries have shown that they were people who would weigh down the body with a rock or some kind of weight to keep them in the casket. More current records may be in the 17th Century in nations like in Haiti when slaves from West Africa were brought in to work on the Sugar Plantations, the conditions were unforgiving and the slaves wanted freedom which also gave the stereotype of the Zombie. Zombies are also rotted in thew ancient religion of Voodoo ''(which was practiced in the Carribean, Central America, and West Africa) as a person called a ''Bokor (a Practitioner of Voodoo) who can conduct spells to bring back the dead by using herbs and fish (in particular the Blowfish) which had toxins in it which caused peculiar disorientation which is said to turn people into Zombies. Now there are recent accounts of sightings of Zombies. In 1997, a British medical journal called The Lancet had made up an article saying there were 2 sightings of Zombies that were in Haiti. An unnamed Haitian woman who was assumed to be dead and buried by her family was said to come back to life 3 years after she died. An investigation of her tomb was ordered, and it was filled with stones and the family admitted her to a hospital. A Haitian man named Clairvius Narcisse was admitted into a hospital after suffering respiratory problems in 1962 had died and then claimed to come back 18 years later when a woman Angelina Narcisse saw the body of this man, and she even told doctors that she is his sister. A scientific study has concluded that it was Clairvius as he believed that he was buried alive and put to work in the Sugar plantations. What about Mummies? Well, we know that they're like Zombies but wrapped in cloth. We also know that their origins go back to the Ancient Egyptians as they preserved their dead. But they would take out all of the insides (except for their hearts) and preserve them with chemicals they had at the time and then wrapped them in cloth to preserve them, especially when it came to somebody important like a Pharoah. But the Egyptians wouldn't be the only ones that would preserve their dead, this practice was also picked up by the Mayans and ancient tribes of South America. That is it for this edition of JohnnyTalk World. Don't forget to check out my other pages as well as my Games and Movies wikis as well. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out. Category:Blog posts